'BPA-Free' Plastic May Be Just As Dangerous, Study Says

A new report is now saying that plastic bottles labeled "BPA-free" may not be any safer. Scientists previously linked Bisphenol A (BPA) to early puberty and certain cancers in animal studies, and now they're questioning the safety of similar chemicals.

According to a UCLA study published in the latest issue of the journal Endocrinology, Bisphenol S (BPS), a BPA alternative commonly used in plastic bottles, "speeds up embryonic development and disrupts the reproductive system."

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"Our study shows that making plastic products with BPA alternatives does not necessarily leave them safer," said Nancy Wayne, the study's senior author, a reproductive endocrinologist and professor of physiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.

Researchers used zebrafish embryos (their transparent nature makes it easier to observe cell growth) and found that exposure to low levels of BPA and BPS sped up embryo development, resulting in "the fish equivalent of premature birth," said Wayne.

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Both BPA and BPS work partly through an estrogen system and partly through a thyroid hormone system, researchers found. BPA has been thought to mimic the effects of estrogen; this new research reveals that it also acts like the thyroid hormone.

"Because of thyroid hormone's important influence on brain development during gestation, our work holds important implications for general embryonic and fetal development, including in humans," said Wayne.

Experts believe endocrine-disrupting chemicals like BPA and BPS may the cause behind a recent rise in premature human births and early onset of puberty in the U.S.

"Our findings are frightening — consider it the aquatic version of the canary in the coal mine," said Wayne.